Matches to Make After UFC Nashville

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Nashville, featuring two showdowns between contenders. In the main event, elite bantamweight Cory Sandhagen clashed with superb striker Rob Font in a 140-pound catchweight affair. Sandhagen's only three losses in the UFC have occurred against world champions in Aljamain Sterling, Petr Yan and T.J. Dillashaw, the last a controversial split decision. Against everyone else, he has looked phenomenal. He rode a two-fight winning streak coming into Nashville, having brutally dispatched Yadong Song in a fourth-round stoppage and then dominated Marlon Vera with striking and grappling alike for 25 minutes, one insane scorecard for his opponent notwithstanding.

Rob Font came into UFC on ESPN 50 having lost two of his last three, dropping clear five-round decisions to Jose Aldo and Marlon Vera before recording a first-round knockout over top prospect Adrian Yanez, then undefeated in the UFC. It was a tremendous war for the almost 3 minutes it lasted, with Font's wonderful technical boxing triumphing. However, coupled with his previous losses and Font's creeping age at 36, Sandhagen was a big favorite.

Sandhagen wasn't taking any chances, repeatedly taking down Font and keeping him there, inflicting effective ground-and-pound. It was the same strategy he had used against Vera, but this time, he was able to do so for all five rounds instead of two. The crowd didn't like it, but it was another dominant performance, with Sandhagen taking the unanimous decision with 50-45 on all three cards.

In the co-main event, Tatiana Suarez returned against former women's strawweight champion Jessica Andrade in a flyweight battle. Suarez looked like a can't miss future queen at 115 pounds in the late 2010s herself, attaining a perfect record of 8-0, including a devastating ground-and-pound stoppage of former and then future strawweight champion Carla Esparza, and an easy first-round submission of current flyweight queen Alexa Grasso, both in 2018. Unfortunately, Suarez had been plagued by injuries, which resulted in her being gone from the cage for almost 4 years. She returned in February of this year with a triumphant guillotine choke of Montana De La Rosa, putting the division on notice. However, Suarez faced a big step up in Andrade, who had also challenged for the flyweight crown as recently as 2021 against Valentina Shevchenko. Andrade had alternated fights between strawweight and flyweight but was riding a two-fight losing streak, having been tapped in the second stanza by sensational prospect Erin Blanchfield in February of this year and then shockingly knocked out by Xiaonan Yan in just over 2 minutes at strawweight in May.

Suarez passed the test with flying colors. She spent some time striking with Andrade, showing improvement thanks to an effective kicking game. It wasn't long, however, before she changed levels and easily took the Brazilian down. In the second stanza, she used a beautiful transition to finish with a guillotine 1:31 into the round, her second such finish in a row.

Here are several interesting fights that now suggest themselves.

Related » UFC Nashville Round-by-Round Scoring

Cory Sandhagen vs. Winner of Aljamain Sterling-Sean O'Malley

With Merab Dvalishvili refusing to face teammate Sterling for the title, Sandhagen is the clear top contender at present. If he were to rematch Sterling, it would be a fascinating contest, as Sandhagen's grappling, especially his wrestling, has improved by leaps and bounds since their initial meeting. It's unlikely Sterling would get a quick submission again, forcing him to strike, where Sandhagen may well have a significant advantage. If Sandhagen were to face O'Malley, it could be a sensational striking duel, though Sandhagen would also have a grappling advantage he can lean on. In either case, it would be an outstanding fight for the UFC bantamweight title, worthy of co-maining or main eventing a UFC pay-per-view.

Rob Font vs. Yadong Song

Font is 36 and clearly has a grappling weakness. However, he is still an excellent striker, so it makes sense to put him against another fantastic striker ranked similarly. This is where Song comes in. In fact, Font and Song were originally scheduled to fight on the UFC 292 card before Song withdrew. Font versus Song could be one of the best “boxing” battles in UFC history, as both men excel within that discipline. Can Font's world-class jab and outstanding technique overcome Song's double-fisted power and crisp combinations? This could easily be the fight of the night on any card it appears on.

Tatiana Suarez vs. Loser of Manon Fiorot-Rose Namajunas

There is no immediate contender above Suarez for her to fight, with Alexa Grasso rematching Valentina Shevchenko for the title, top contender Manon Fiorot facing former strawweight queen Rose Namajunas, and Erin Blachfield battling Taila Santos. The next title challenger will likely either be the winner of Fiorot-Namajunas or Blanchfield-Santos. Blanchfield and Santos are both excellent grapplers, which could make for a stalemate against Suarez. Thus, the other fight's loser makes more sense, as Fiorot and Namajunas are primarily strikers. Suarez facing either one will not only elevate the winner to a potential title shot of their own, but be an exciting affair with a high chance of a finish.